As Red As Blood
by Araedia
Summary: Didn't you ever wonder about the similarities in appearance between Snow White and a certain... undead creature? The unnaturally pale skin and the red lips? Very dark version of Snow White, mainly from the stepmother's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**The whole story is from the stepmother's POV.**

**Disclaimer: Snow White is not mine.**

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><p>I still remember the day the Queen died.<p>

It was a beautiful winter's day, with snow settling into the thatched eaves of the houses in the village. Cold, yes, but still beautiful. I had come into town with my mother for an early lesson in the fine art of selecting ribbons and bargaining.

Not the way I would have preferred to spend the afternoon, but still peaceful enough. That is, until the messenger thundered into the town square with the accompanying guard and read his announcement off a sheet of parchment. Within minutes, the whole town was in an uproar, with wild rumours flying around from one person to another.

You see, we had just received the news that our seemingly infertile Queen had died in childbirth.

I heard so many snippets of gossip that day on this matter as my mother and I brushed past the crowds and back to our carriage, all thoughts of ribbons forgotten. Some believed that the Queen had indulged in dark magic to produce the heir; some thought that she had been murdered and this was a convenient cover-up. Others believed the child was not hers, it was her trusted maidservant's.

I still do not know the real reason behind her death, nor the birth of the heir. At that point of time, however, what occupied my mind was my mother's plans to prepare me as a bride for the recently bereaved king.

My mother had calculated well. Knowing the King's great attachment to his former Queen, she had predicted that it would be several years before he would seek out a queen again. With a bit of luck, he would remain single until the year of my coming-out.

This afternoon was followed by ten years of grooming – grooming to become Queen. The year of my coming-out was a whirlwind of balls, gowns, bonnets, dances, flowers. At the end of it, I was proclaimed by many to be the fairest maiden in the land, and this attracted the attention of our King.

It took two more years of courtship and sly advances on my mother's part, before he actually asked me to marry him. And then I became Queen.

I was only nineteen at that time. Nineteen, a scant six years older than the princess. Or as she was known better – Snow White.

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><p>I had my first glimpse of her at the dinner thrown in celebration of our marriage. I only saw her fleetingly, but the image was engraved in my mind ever after. Hair so dark it was almost blue, black eyes and lips as red as blood set in a deathly pale face. I had, of course, heard rumours, but I had never really believed them. After all, how could one have such unnaturally pale skin, the colour of snow?<p>

As I settled in to my new life, I noticed several... incongruities about my new stepdaughter. Snow White never joined us for any meals – in fact, I barely ever saw her around the castle. She always seemed cloistered in her room, scarcely even meeting her own father.

Another thing I found rather worrisome was the mechanical behaviour of some of the servants, particularly the servants tending to Snow White. I never noticed even a spark of emotion in any one of them, their eyes were always eerily blank – sometimes it felt as if they weren't even alive.

On the passing of a few weeks, I started to see more of her. She never announced herself; I learnt to distinguish her appearances only by the uneasy feeling of her dark eyes boring into my back. We exchanged very few words, only when it was unavoidable.

I remember a particular incident when I lost my temper with her for the first time. I walked upon her with a servant boy in a rather compromising position – she kissing his neck, he with a rather dazed and uncomprehending look on his face. They broke apart on my approach, and the boy hurried off, but I still remember being rather startled by the smear of blood on his collar. As it happens, I tried to talk to her, but her continual indifference pushed my temper over the edge and I ordered her to do some kitchen work as punishment.

One of my family heirlooms that I had always been proud about was a mirror, passed down in my family across several generations. It had the ability to assess the beauty of the viewer. For me, looking in the mirror was always a very satisfying affair. This may sound arrogant, but wasn't it natural, when it proclaimed me the most beautiful in the land?

I invited Snow White into my chambers once, in an attempt to improve my relationship with her. As usual, her attitude bordered on apathy towards me, but I noticed a spark of interest in her eyes as she beheld the mirror. However, she didn't step before it, not at that time.

Meanwhile, I discreetly tried to find some intelligence on her, but it was difficult. The people she was around all day – her servants – were no good; they were polite, but refused to impart anything about her, not even when I resorted to bribery.

While I was thus occupied, I noticed another smear of blood of one of the maidservants' collars. I tried to get a look at it circumspectly, and was rewarded for my efforts when she bent down and the material shifted. Under the cloth, there were two ragged wounds on the side of her neck.

After that, I began noticing the same gashes in most of the others. At the same time, I also received news from the gossipmongers of the city. There were whispers of blood, snow and dark, dark eyes. And dare I say it... the undead.

The next day, I silently went to her quarters, staying in the shadows. I waited until I saw a servant enter and then stationed myself outside the door, listening to every word that was spoken. There wasn't much, all I could hear was a hungry sucking sound which continued for several minutes. Unable to bear it any longer, I knocked on the door urgently, and pushed it open.

What I saw that day will forever haunt me. Snow White stood at the centre of the room, her face buried into the neck of the servant boy standing beside her. She held his head almost tenderly. But that illusion was shattered as soon as she looked up.

Her teeth had lengthened into fangs, her normally pale face was vibrantly flushed, blood dripped down her front from her red lips... and from the servant's neck, where I saw those ragged, ubiquitous gashes.

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><p><strong>I don't know whether this has ever been done before, so if it has, I'm not plagiarizing anyone's work. This idea just occurred to me when I was re-reading Dracula. I'd love to hear your feedback, so please review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is from the POV of an OC, a soldier called Hans.**

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><p>I never thought I'd see anything but a cool assurance on my mistress's face, her demeanour always confident and collected. That day when I answered her summons, I saw something else on her face.<p>

That day I saw barely controlled _fear_ in her pinched expression.

Her face was wan and there were dark shadows under her eyes. She looked up as I entered the room, some of her normal composure returning. "Hans."

"You called for me, my Queen?"

"Yes." She stood up, and began pacing the room in long, measured strides. I stood patiently as I waited for her orders. "I –" she stopped, as if unsure of what to say. Walking up to me, she took one of my hands in hers. "Hans, I need a favour of you." There was a rare pleading in her eyes, one that looked unnatural in the proud confines of her face.

I shifted, slightly uncomfortable with her proximity. "Anything for my Queen."

She dropped my hand, and strode over to the chest-of-drawers beside her bed. She returned a minute later, holding a wooden stake in her hands. "I want you to take this," she said, pressing it onto me. "Take this, and drive into the heart of Snow White."

_Kill... Snow White?_

There was a loud clatter as the stake dropped out of my loose grip. My eyes wide, I watched with fear as the Queen yet again pressed herself close to me. "You will receive a _very_ good reward." she whispered, her mouth very close to mine, her breath heating up my face.

My flinch must have been a bit more visible than I had thought it was, because she immediately moved back. "I do not ask this of you for no reason. This would be for the good of all the people in this castle – nay, all the people of this kingdom." She looked straight into my eyes. "You see, Snow White is one of the Undead."

I gaped at her. _Impossible! _She continued forcefully, "Have you not seen how the servants in her wing behave – like dead puppets, with no mind of their own? Have you ever seen her _eat_? Have you ever seen her go out in the sunlight?" My heart rebelled at these blasphemous words, but somewhere at the back of my mind, I must have harboured the same thoughts, because strangely, I found myself _agreeing_ with her.

"No..."

She overrode my feeble protest. "Think, Hans! I have seen her feeding myself, not half an hour ago! No one in this castle is safe, not you, not me... not even the King!"

It was true – it _did_ make sense. I nodded slowly.

"Do you agree to kill this creature?" she asked. _Kill... the Undead? _I nodded again.

"Very well then. Take this," she handed me the stake again. "You will accompany Princess Snow White for her evening walk tomorrow. Make sure you are in a secluded portion of the forest. I will ensure that she partakes of a poison that will slow her senses and reactions. That should give you enough time to drive this stake into her heart, before she retaliates. And then you will cut off her head, and bring it to me."

"How will you make certain that she consumes the poison, if she only drinks the blood of humans?" I asked.

"I will order the servant who serves her _dinner_ tomorrow night to drink it. If his or her blood is poisoned, Snow White will be poisoned as well." She picked up a small glass vial from her table, and held it up for me to see.

"Yes... Your Highness."

Her face softened. She came close to where I stood, and held the sides of my face gently. "Be careful. No one will be able to help you if she attacks." I nodded again, rather distractedly. In my defence, it is rather hard to concentrate when the full lips of the most beautiful woman in the kingdom are so tantalizingly close to yours.

She must have noticed my gaze, because she gave a sudden smile. And then closed the distance between us.

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><p>I walked beside the Princess, gripping my 'staff' in anxiety. The only sounds were the crunching sounds of the dead leaves underfoot, and my breathing. Only mine. The forest was dark, the sun having set only minutes after our start. A slight wind blew, ruffling the leaves of the trees in an eerie symphony. <em>Now.<em>

I turned towards her, my staff half-raised, prepared to fight her if needed. However, as my Queen had promised, Snow White was slow and sluggish that night, and I did not anticipate a problem. Still, in spite of my self-assurances, I couldn't help but feel a light tingle of fear along my spine.

It was then that she finally broke the silence. "So, Hans, did my step-mother give you a good time today?" She smiled.

I froze at that unexpected comment, and before I knew it, I was slammed against the nearest tree with a force quite startling from the thin, pale girl. _The potion didn't wor- _was all I could think before I felt her cold lips on my throat – so different from the Queen's warm, soft lips. "Are you wondering why the poison didn't work?" she whispered. "I skipped my dinner tonight, and I'm rather... hungry." I felt the sensation of twin fangs piercing my skin, and then the world faded into oblivion.

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><p>Far away in the castle, a frustrated scream forced its way out of the Queen's throat as she stood in front of her mirror, and it informed her "The fairest woman in the land is still Snow White, Your Highness."<p>

_She has escaped! She must have been faking the effects of the poison!_

The blonde, good-looking soldier Hans was probably dead, and Snow White was still alive.

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><p><strong>Thanks to sadistprincess, Foosemittee and ladystalke for your reviews!<strong>


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